Artificial intelligence, pharmaceutical development and dual-use research of concern: a call to action

• DOI: 10.1136/jme-2025-110750
• Publication Date: 2025-03-27T19:34:22Z
• Authors: Christopher Bobier; Daniel J Hurst; John Obeid

Fervent attention was paid to what is coined dual-use research (DUR), or research that can both benefit and harm humanity, and dual-use research of concern (DURC), a particular subset of DUR that is reasonably anticipated to be a safety and security concern if misapplied. The aim of this paper is not to reiterate the challenges of DURC governance but to look at a new turn in DURC, namely the challenges posed by the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in pharmaceutical development. This is important, as AI is increasingly being used for pharmaceutical development in the industry. There is growing recognition that AI is DURC, and there is a dearth of industry and governmental guidance.